Oil-engine.



E.. THOMSON;

OIL` ENGINE. APPLmMIox FILED ssrLa, 1910.

1'0f5,04"7. Patented July .28,1914L Figs, m

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Inventor',

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UNITED STATES FANT ELIHU THOMSON, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB T0 GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A COMORATION OF NEW YORK.

OILENGIN'E.

Spcccation of letters Eatent.

remates sui-y es, ieee,

Application tiled September 3, 191). serial No. 580,3353.

To all 107mm- -it may concern.

Be it known that I. ELmU THOMSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Swampscott, county of Essex, Stute of Mns- 5 sechusetts, have invented certain new and c ducer to make a, xed gas from the oi others i L proposing to vaporize the oil, and still others to convert it into a spray mixed with air. The gas producer is necessarily heavy and cumbersome; the vaporizer involves an outside source ofheat and is slow in getting under way, frequently requiring the employment of gas or gasolene or other more volavtile oil to start 1t. To spray oil demands e. high pressure air pump, because the fuel charge is not introduced into the cylinder until the compression of the air therein is about completed; this being done to allow high compression to be used without the danger of pre-ignition.

in my invention I use e vaporizer compricing e tortuous passage in a body of resistance material which can be suitably heated preferably b the assage of an electric current throug sai material, the oil being forced' through said hot vaporizer and into the cylinder at or near the moment of greatest compression in seidv cylinder. There is no need of an igniter, as the oil vapor leaves the vaporizer in a superheated etcte and is self-ignited. The details of the preerred embodiment of my invention will appear in the followin extended description, reference being ha to the 'accompanying drawing in which- Figure 1 1s a dia ammatic representation of an internal com ustion engine e uip ed with my fuel fcedin devices, and igig. is cross section of t e engine cylinder and the veporizer on a larger scale.

Ifhe invention is shown as applied to e single cylinder upright four cycle engine, hut it is of course capable of use with multi engines, and with those operating n the upper port of the cylinder 1 is nn opening 2 couvulnicating with e. tubular projection 3, pre. with the cylinder and forming the casing of the vaporizer. An insulating bushing e is inserted in the projection 3 composed o' some refractory material such as mica or fused quartz. The bushing has nn outer head 5 of similar insulatin materinhend an inner perforated head G o refractory metal, such as nickel. Between said heads is a filling 7 of granular conducting material offering high resistance to the passage of a current of electricity. It is preferred that this material have a negative temperature coeiiicient, and for this purpose silicon or boron or borid of carbon are well adapted. Bythe expression negative temperature coefficient is meant that the resistance of n material to the passage of n current of electricity decreases to a greater or less extent, as the material is heated. nside the head 5 is an electrode or terminal 8 connected through said head to a binding post 9 which is mounted on n cap l0 secured to the outer end of the projection 3, as by the screws l1. Une pole of a source of electric current is connected to seid binding post, the other pole bein connected to the head 6 through the cylin Ver 1. The electric current may be obtained from any suitable source, such as the battery 12, or a generator 13 driven'by the engine, or both, .the battery being used only for' starting. If the engine is used to drive a generator for lighting or ower pur poses, a portion of its output, ro nblylirom 2 to 5 per cent., would be su 'cient to heat the vaporizer. In any event, the supply of current must of ceurse be regulated, so that the resistance material may not become oven heated by standing with the circuit closed when the engine is not running. The 'currentmust be of suicient voltage to raise the granular resistance material to a high temperature. It silicon cnules are used, they ma be about the size of smell peas, and their working temperature will be a brig t yellow heet,

The fuel ie preferably e heavy oil, which is not only lese expensive but is far'saer to' use than gasolene. it is forced by suitable means, such eel the pump'l, opersting in synchrcnism. with the engine, from e tenir e,

15 te e pipe 1eentering the csp ld bly cust integral to have the oil vapor issue from these perforations in various directions and not as a smooth jet, in order to insure Iits instantaneous and com lete mixture with the air in the cylinder. the perforations can be set obliquely to give the vapor awhirling motion.

In operation the parts are so timed that the piston of the engine makes the greater art of its compression stroke before any uel enters the cylinder. But as soon as the air in the cylinderhas reached ve near the maximum pressure, the ump wi l send a small charge of oil throug the va o`rizer. Burning takes .place whilethei oil is being forced in, the ignition of the explosive mixture of air and vapor takin place automatically by reason of the-big temperature of said oiLvapor.

In order to clear the granular lling of any unvaporized oil or unburned oil vapor, and at the same Vtime help in a measure to' keep up the temperature of the same, I provide anair pump1 18, whose piston is timed to follow eac compressive or injective stroke of the oil iston, so that imdelive into the pipe 16 and so throu mediately following the in'ection of the oil a stream of air is forced rou h a pipe 19 'the granular mass, sweeping before it al the oil vaors andhunconslililmecmmategl ailid thus ree ing t e n ar mg m cogging. Thil; pui ofgir also serves to stir up` the contents of the explosive chamber in the cylinderso as to make the combustion quite com lete.

'I ie advantage-of using the granularV material having a negative temperature coeihcient. is that when the mass is cooled by the vaporized oil it increases in resistance and thereby assists in the delivery of euergy besides ving a regulatin action. It wo d natura y be the casetliat at portion gf ,the .granular mass nearer the oil pipe inlet would'become cool to a greater extent than that farther from the oil pipe inlet, but if the effect of coo is to increase the resistance of the mater then' an increased of energy takes place at the part so coo ed, which tenda to-eecure a balance of delive It shoiild be remarked that the'drawing accompanying this s 'cation is merel illustrative, and no a tempt has been ma e to show a commercial'machine, or to reserve the proper relative ailes of the cy nders of the c e and pumps.

What'I cla u new d desire to seo this end some or all of' cure by Letters Patent of the` United States,

1. In combination, .an internal combustion engine having a cylinder and piston,tlie

latter being arranged to compre pure air I in the'cylinder on one of its strokes, a va,- porizer opening into the cylinder and com prising a mass of material containinga plurality of (passage through which t el fuel passes an is ely divided, said materialv being a relatively poor conductor of electricity, means for passing a current of electricity through sai material to heat it to a relatively high temperature, a pumpl timed to force a charge Vof fuel through t sages into the cylinder when the piston has partially completed its compression stroke, and a second pum timed to force a charge of air through sai material to assist in forcf ing fuel into the cylinder.

2. The combination with an internal combustion engine, of avaporizer for oil comprising a mass of granular resistance material located in the 'path of said oil, means for passing an electric current through said mass, means for forcing the oil through said electrically heated mass, and means for forcing air therethrough also.

3. The combinati'on with -an internal 'combustion engine, of a vaporizer for oil comprising a tube of refractory material, a lling of granular resistance material, heads -of refractory material confining said granular material, an oil pipe communicatin with one end of'said tube, and a source of e ectric j,

current in` circuit with said resistance ma# terial.

4. The combination with the cylinder of an internal combustion'engine, of a tube fof refractory material communicating with said cylinder, a mass of granular resistance material in said tube having a negativetemperature.coeilicient, retaininig'heads in said tube, an oil pipe entering t e outer end of said tubez and a. source of electric current in circuit with said, resistancematerial.

5.' The combination with thecylinder of an internal combustion engine, of' a tubular projection from said cylin er, a lining of reing of granular. resistance material in said lining, an inner perforated head for said lim an outer head .having an inlet port, an oi pipe communicating with said port, and a source of electric current in circuit with said resistance material.

fractory material in said projection, a 11- i 6. The combination with the c linden of an internal combustion en' e, o a tubular projection from said cylin er, a lining of refractory material in said projection, a lling of granular resistance material in said limng, an inner'perforated head for said linin anouter head having an inlet port, an o1 pipe communicating with said port, e source of electric current in circuit with .circuit with sai said resistance material, a. pump -for forcing oil through said pipe, means for operating it in synchronism with the engine, and means for sending a puff of air through said pipe after each injection of'oil.

7 The combination with an internal combustion engine, of a vaporizer connected with its cylinder, and means Jfor sending oill and air in succession through saicl vaporizer.

8. The combination with an internal combustion engine comprising a piston and cylincler, of a vaporizer located in close proximity to seid cylinder and. comprising a mass of material having high electrical re'- sistivity and aording a tortuous passageway for oil, a source of electric current in mass, a pump driven by the engine for forcing oil through the Vaporizer into 'the cylinder after the piston has started its compression stroke', and means for` forcing air through the lVaporizer between successive pump strokes.

9. The combination in an internal combustion engine, of means for injecting uel into the `cylinder when the piston has partially completedits compression stroke, said means comprising a vaporizer connected to the cylinder having a mass of granular re sistance material therein, means for passing a current of electricity through said material to heet the same, and means forV forcing first a charge of liquid fuel and then a blast of air into the vaporizer.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 1st day of September, 1910.

ELIHU THOMSON.

Y" Witnesses.

CHARLES A. BARNARD, FRANK G. Hs'rrm. 

